Distressed Travel ATCs

Hello everyone!! Sorry for having been a bit quiet, we were visiting family. It is Monday and time for a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week we are having a favourite theme of mine as a challenge - distress. Tim Holtz Distress range of products make their way onto almost every project of mine, and I of course also love to distress. Speaking of that, I had a great day yesterday at a full-day class taught by Tim Holtz and Paula Cheney. It was so much fun to meet them for the first time.

 

I felt like making some ATCs this week, and I challenged myself to use as many Distress products as possible on the small surface of an ATC. I ended up using: Distress Ink, Distress Markers, Distress Glitter and Distress Paint.

The ATCs were die cut from manila cardstock and I stamped three transportation images on them with Archival Jet Black Ink. They were stamped a second time on a post-it note and cut out for a mask. I masked the images and inked the cards with Distress Inks, using an ink-blending tool. The sea and the sky were inked blue, the rest in shades of brown. I also splattered some water on the backgrounds, for more texture.

Before removing the mask, I stamped the ATCs with various ticket stamps. The stamps were inked with Distress Markers for a great multi-colour effect. Huff on the stamp to before stamping and you'll get a great impression. I really like using the Distress Markers in this way. The transportation images were coloured with Distress Ink, using a craft nib.

The background was done in the same way here, with the top of the sky inked blue. The ticket stamp was stamped and reinked with the markers repeatedly to cover the background.

I die cut the letters from grungeboard with the Vintage Market XL die, inked them with Antique Linen, coated with Glossy Accents and covered with Antique Linen Distress Glitter. The remainder of the word was completed with Label Letter stickers.

I really like these transportation stamps, and the train is one of my favourites. It was coloured mainly with Pumice Stone and Black Soot, adding just a few red details.

I also used some metal Idea-ology pieces and coloured them with Distress Paint for a patina look.

I hope you will join us this week in our fun distress challenge, and as always, one random participant wins a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp.

 

Thank you for stopping by!!

Happy distressing!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Ranger Manila Cardstock; Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Grungeboard
Dies: Sizzix: ATC and Corners, Vintage Market
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz: Travel Ways, Paris to London
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black; Distress Ink: Barn Door, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap, Black Soot
Markers: Distress Markers: Faded Jeans, Barn Door, Walnut Stain
Paint: Distress Paint: Peeled Paint, Salty Ocean
Glitter: Distress Glitter: Antique Linen
Embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Sprocket Gears, Game Spinners, Long Fasteners, Label Letters

Shabby Chic Assemblage Clock

Hi and welcome! Monday and of course a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week our challenge is all about time.

 

I often use themes related to time and this week I thought it was the perfect time to alter my Tim Holtz Assemblage Clock. I had so much fun making this and made it in a shabby chic style since it was a gift for my sister. She has it on a shelf in her kitchen now and it is really at home there. Instead of using clock arms or a clock image in the background, I used the lady stamp from Stampers Anonymous Classics #5 together with one of my favourite sentiments, also from that set.

 

I first disassembled the clock (if you do this, remember to put the screws, washers and parts in a safe place so that you don't lose any of them). I started out painting it with Vintaj Patina Inks, but changed my mind and coated it with gesso instead. The gesso gives tooth for the Distress Paint to adhere too. Next, I painted it with Antique Linen Distress Paint and when dry, with Spun Sugar.

When the paint was dry, I burnished the clock slightly to reveal some of the metallic and some of the lighter colours underneath. I also aged it further with a wash of watered-down Frayed Burlap paint, most of which was wiped off. A few images from the Tiny Things set were stamped with Stazon ink and I used one of my favourite text stamps to add words to the background. Hold the cling stamp in your hand instead of mounting on an acrylic block since that makes it much easier to stamp on the uneven surface.

I planned where some of the stamped words would go, such as this one.

I traced the back of the clock on a piece of Specialty Stamping paper and cut out a slightly smaller circle. The face was stamped with Archival Jet Black ink and then I coloured it lightly with Distress Inks, making sure to leave the white of the eye white. The rest of the circle was inked and the flowers were stamped with Victorian Velvet. Later I also stamped a clock stamp in three places.

The roses were made with the Tattered Pine Cone die, and die cut from three colours Core'dinations cardstock as well as BasicGrey ledger paper. I die cut leaves with the Garden Greens die, also from ledger and text papers.

Before assembling the flowers, the Core'dinations cardstock was lightly sanded and the roses were inked with Frayed Burlap. I also gave them a vintage shimmery look with Rock Candy Distress Glitter.

 

I put the glass back again, since I wouldn't have been able to put it back after gluing down the flowers. I also assembled the rest of the clock since it would be hard to do so once the embellishments were in place. The flowers were glued to the sides of the clock and the leaves tucked in here and there.

I also added a couple of sprocket gears. The sentiment was stamped on a piece of ledger paper and the corners were rounded with my Crop 'n Dile Corner Chomper.

I added some rub-on stars to the glass.

I wanted the look of old enamel, but also with some texture.

Adhere the stamped and inked circle to the back piece of the clock and press the back piece back. You can get so many different looks with this clock, it is a really fun piece to alter.

Join us this week in our time challenge and you can be the one who wins a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp, drawn randomly among the participants.

 

Thank you for visiting my blog!

 

Happy crafting! 

 

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surface: Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Assemblage Clock, Mini Collage Paper Stash 8 x 8; Ranger Specialty Stamping Paper; Tim Holtz Core'dinations Colour-Core Cardstock; BasicGrey Capture Cardstock Pack
Dies: Sizzix: Tattered Pinecone, Garden Greens
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz: Classics #5, Tiny Things, Stuff to Say, Curiosities, Nature's Moment
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black; Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Barn Door, Frayed Burlap, Gathered Twigs, Victorian Velvet, Tumbled Glass; Tsukineko Stazon Jet Black
Paint: Distress Paint: Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen, Spun Sugar
Stickles: Distress Stickles: Rock Candy
Medium: Claudine Hellmuth Gesso
Embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Christmas Time Remnant Rubs, Sprocket Gears

Spring Birch Forest

Hello stampers! A new month and a new theme at Craft a Scene, Let it be Spring.

 

I love Birch trees and made a Spring Birch Forest with Stampscapes stamps. The trees were stamped with Watering Can ink and the grass with three different green Archival Inks. I used scrap papers to mask the trees when stamping the grass. The grass was made darker in the front of the scene and lighter towards the back, to increase a sense of perspective. White spring flowers were added to the grass with a gel pen.

Thank you for looking!

Happy Stamping!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampscapes: Sedge Filler 251C, Birch Trees 312I, Birch Trees Sm. 313G, Winter Twigs 367B, Scenic Sentiment Sheet 6
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Watering Can, Fern Green, Olive, Sap Green, Jet Black; Adirondack: Willow, Aqua, Pesto, Lettuce, Slate; Distress Ink: Pumice Stone, Peeled Paint; Jenni Bowlin: Weather Vane
Paper: Kromecote glossy cardstock

CSI case file #112 - Top of the World

Hello everyone! A new CSI:Color, Stories, Inspiration challenge is up, and the case file is gorgeous:

 

 

I did a mixed-media layout:

 

From the evidence I used: something puffy, flowers, something sheer and floral pattern. And from the testimony, I journaled about a travel memory and dream vacation. These photos were taken a few years ago on top of a mountain in Norway, after having walked up. It was fun and quite an adventure. The journaling is written on stamped journaling cards, tucked into a vellum envelope behind the right-hand photo. For the background I used watercolour paper, first coated with gesso and then painted with watered-down acrylic paints. The background was stamped with a map stamp.

Light molding paste was smeared with a palette knife through a Tim Holtz stencil. When dry, I painted them yellow.

The vellum envelope was made with Eileen Hull's Sizzix Seed Packet Envelope die. All the stamps are from Hero Arts.

I used sentiment stamps to add more journaling to the page.

I also stamped the background repeatedly with a flower background stamp, using green and blue Archival Inks, to mimic the texture in the photos.These blocks are from a Hero Arts stencil, also made with Light Molding Paste.

Some of the blocks were painted yellow. Since the paste was applied thinly in places, you can spot the stamped flowers through it.

There is also texture from the gesso on the background, since it wasn't applied evenly.

Thank you for looking!! I hope you will join us this week.

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Daler & Rowney Watercolour paper; Neenah Smooth Solar White Cardstock; vellum
Dies: Sizzix: Seed Packet Envelope
Stamps: Hero Arts: Travel AC031, Time AC029, Collage Postcard AC023, My Favorite AC030, Delicate Flower CG476, Cherish Yesterday AC032
Ink: Archival Ink: Jet Black, French Ultramarine, Sap Green
Paint: Distress Paint: Bundled Sage, Mustard Seed, Pine Needles; Claudine Hellmuth: Classic Teal
Stencils: Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous: Rays; Hero Arts: Irregular Checkerboard Background
Medium: Golden Artist Paint: Light Molding Paste

Textured Window Canvas Tutorial

Hello everyone!! This week we have another fabulous challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog, Paste Mediums (embossing paste, gel medium, gesso and more). I am very fond of adding texture to my pages and different kinds of paste is one of my favourite supplies.

 

This week, I used a lot of paste, and made a canvas that consists mainly of Wendy Vecchi's White Embossing Paste. Love this stuff, it has the greatest texture and is light-weight and non-sticky, perfect for papercrafts, and for any kind of mixed-media work. I use it often together with stencils and for backgrounds, but this week I wanted to try something different, namely to cover a canvas with a thick layer and carve a pattern into the paste. I took some step photos.

I used a deep edge 4 x 4 in canvas and coated the front with a thick layer of paste using a palette knife, maybe about 8 mm thick. You need to work one side at a time. It is a good idea to start on one of the sides first, to figure out how long you have to wait for the paste to start drying before making impressions into it. I wished I had started with a side, because the bricks on the sides of my canvas are neater than the ones on the front, since I timed it better.

You need to wait until the paste starts to dry a little bit, and particularly until the surface starts to dry. The time will differ depending on the climate where you live. I think I waited about 30 minutes. The paste still needs to be soft, but not completely soft. I used a plastic palette knife to make impressions. I made the impressions a bit early on the front, if I had started with a side, I would have known to wait longer. Complete all the sides of the canvas, one at a time. If you are careful, they don't have to dry fully before you do the next side. Leave to dry completely.

I painted the windows with Antique Linen and the rest of the canvas with Pumice Stone, also adding Pumice Stone between the windows. Leave to dry. (The orange shouldn't have been here, I just forgot to take this photo until I had started with the orange).

I wanted a terracotta window and painted the bricks with Rusty Hinge, leaving the area in between them, the grout, Pumice Stone. Leave to dry. 

 

Dry-brush Walnut Stain on the window to distress it and to add more texture and character.

 

I wanted to add a sentiment too and love this stamp by Wendy Vecchi, but it was too large to fit a single window pane. Instead, I stamped it on tissue paper and tore into strips. I glued the strips down with gel medium, which makes the tissue paper disappear. Check out this tutorial of mine for more inspiration on tissue paper stamping.  



I wanted a branch in front of the window and reached for my trusted Branch Tree die. It was die cut from grungeboard and coated with Embossing Paste. I love using paste to add textures to die cut embellishments. Leave to dry.

 

When the paste is dry, paint the branch with Walnut Stain and Forest Moss Distress Paint, using a paint brush.

The flowers were die cut from Bazzill Antique papers with the Tattered Flower Garland die, inked and layered.

I used a resin embellishment to add a bit of life to my scene. (Sorry, I just saw that it got out of stock right after I got it). You could also make a clay bird using a Martha Stewart mold. 

 

Love the texture of this piece. You just want to reach out and touch it.

Since the canvas has a thick edge, it looks great to extend the brick texture to the edges.

 

I hope you will join us this week! We love looking at all the submissions every week. As always, one random participant wins a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp.

Thank you for looking!!

Happy Crafting!!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Tim Holtz Idea-ology Grungeboard; Bazzill Antique 6 x 6 pad; 4 x 4 deep edged canvas
Dies: Sizzix: Branch Tree, Tattered Flower Garland
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous Wendy Vecchi: Art Comforts
Ink: Archival Ink: Jet Black; Distress Ink: Gathered Twigs
Paint: Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap, Gathered Twigs, Rusty Hinge, Walnut Stain, Forest Moss
Medium: Wendy Vecchi Stampers Anonymous: White Embossing Paste
Embellishments: Webster's Pages: Resin Nesting Birds; Kaisercraft Pearls

Flower Window Tutorial

Hi everyone! Today I have a Sizzix step-by-step tutorial to share with you, for a window ornament with 3D flowers, made with Susan's Garden dies.

 

Susan's Garden dies by Susan Tierney-Cockburn make such gorgeous and real looking flowers and they look great showcased in the Conservatory Window. This is a great gift, or make it for yourself. It doesn't have to be a décor piece, you can also attach it to a card or a scrapbooking page. By using other flowers and colours you can easily turn it into a project for any season, but I was in a spring mood.

 

The Conservatory Window die is wafer-thin and works great together with the Magnetic Platform. First, I die cut it from wood veneer paper.

I wanted the window to be thick and dimensional, and die cut it quite many times from thin chipboard. Since this is a thin die, it can't handle thick material such as mat board or grungeboard, but that doesn't mean you can't make a sturdy piece.

Glue all the windows and window boxes together, add more if you want it even thicker. Leave one window piece for later.

You can leave the wood veneer as is, but I wanted a white-washed look and painted it with Picket Fence Distress Paint. Do the same on the window box.

 When the paint is dry, ink the edges with Gathered Twigs. I also added a rub-on sentiment.

For a window, I used a mica sheet, first adding a rub-on flourish (cut in two). Cut the mica to fit the window and sandwich between the window and the last window piece that you saved.

Now to the flowers, I coloured some smooth cardstock with Pan Pastels, on both sides, using two shades for each paper. This is a very quick colouring method.

 For the leaves, I used two shades of green.

Starting with the roses, die cut the petals from the yellow paper and the leaves and calyx from the green paper. The Magnetic Platform works really well together with these dies, saving me paper since it doesn't shift.

I used a darker orange Pan Pastel to add some colour to the inside part of each petal. The petals were shaped using Susan's Garden tools. You can find the basic technique in this and this video by Susan. These are the pieces you need to make one rose. Here's a video that explains how to assemble the flower.

Colour smooth cardstock with blue Pan Pastels and die cut the petals for the Mini Daisy. Use the same green cardstock you coloured earlier for its leaves. Vein and shape the petals for the Mini Daisy and assemble the flower. I used some yellow Flower Soft on the stamen. You can find Susan's video about this flower here.

Glue the flowers to the window, tucking the leaves in here and there. 

 

I used leftover strips of mat board behind the box, to give it dimension and so that there would be space for some of the flowers behind the box.

The mica looks wonderful as window glass. The effect is hard to photograph, but here you can see that it is transparent, but not totally clear. You can also use a transparency and age it a with alcohol ink, or try vellum for a frosty effect.

Thank you for looking!!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Neenah Smooth Solar White Cardstock; Simon Says Stamp Birch Wood Veneer Paper; thin chipboard
Dies: Sizzix: Conservatory Window, Mini Petals, Mini Daisy
Ink: Distress Ink: Gathered Twigs
Paint: Distress Paint: Picket Fence
Pastel: Pan Pastels: Flower Colouring Kit Set, Mixed Media 1, Mixed Media 2
Embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology Words Remnant  Rubs, Elements Remnant Rubs; Flower Soft: yellow; US ArtQuest Mica Sheet
Tools: Sizzix: Big Shot, Magnetic Platform, Susan's Garden Tool Kit